Tourists pose in front of Louvre Pyramid in Paris. The US issued a travel alert warning of potential terrorist attacks throughout Europe this summer.
Photograph: Chesnot/Getty Images

The US State Department has issued a travel alert for Europe, cautioning Americans that the influx of summer tourists and a series of high-profile events “will present greater targets for terrorists planning attacks in public locations”.

Announcing the alert, the State Department said: “Euro Cup stadiums, fan zones, and unaffiliated entertainment venues broadcasting the tournaments in France and across Europe represent potential targets for terrorists, as do other large-scale sporting events and public gathering places throughout Europe.”

The alert noted that France has extended its state of emergency through 26 July to cover the championship and the Tour de France.

The State Department also mentioned the Catholic church’s World Youth Day, beginning 26 July in Krakow, which it said is expected to draw 2.5 million visitors.

The travel alert follows terrorist attacks in November in Paris and in March in Brussels, which killed 130 and 32 people respectively. The US previously issued a global travel alert following the attacks in Paris, and issued a travel alert for Europe specially after the attacks in Brussels. In March, the State Department encouraged citizens to “exercise vigilance when in public places or using mass transportation”.

Unlike travel warnings, travel alerts are issued for a defined period of time around short-term events, according to the State Department’s website. Travel warnings are issued when the State Department wants “you to consider very carefully whether you should go to a country at all”.

The travel alert for Europe is scheduled to expire on 31 August.

A spokesman for the State Department said the new warning amounted to an extension of the previous one, which was issued on 22 March following the Brussels attacks and was due to expire in late June.

“We took the opportunity, because it’s the beginning of summer, to make our concerns known,” he told reporters.

“I’m not aware of any specific, credible terrorist event around these events or in any particular place in Europe. This was issued ... based on an accumulation of information,” John Kirby said.

The British Foreign Office declined to comment but pointed to its own guidance advising of a “high threat” of terrorism in some European countries.